Lateral brace for orchard apparatus



Oct. 4, 1966 A. L. GIRARDI LATERAL BRACE FOR ORCHARD APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1964 FIG'4 INVENTOR. fl/vra/v/a A,6/?490/ Oct. 4, 1966 A. L. GIRARDI 3,

LATERAL BRACE FOR ORCHARD APPARATUS Filed March 25, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR. l/vra/v/a Z, 6/9440/ Oct. 4, 1966 A. GIRARDI LATERAL BRAGEFOR ORCHARD APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 25, 1964 Oct. 4, 1966A. L. GIRARDI 3,276,789

LATERAL BRACE FOR ORCHARD APPARATUS Filed March 25, 1964 r 5Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. /7/V70/V/0 L. GMW W BY/y// United States Patent3,276,789 LATERAL BRACE FOR ORCHARD APPARATUS Antonio Lawrence Girardi,Stockton, Calif.

(758 W. Acacia St., Salinas, Calif.)

Filed Mar. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 355,152 10 Claims. (Cl. 280-150) Thisinvention relates to orchard apparatus of the character disclosed in myPatents No. 2,798,623, issued July 9, 1957, and No. 2,927,705, issuedMarch 8, 1960. More particularly, this invention relates to lateralsupporting mechanism operable in connection with apparatus of thecharacter noted to brace the apparatus against lateral tilting when theapparatus is in operation in an orchard.

It is among the objects of my present invention to provide supportsextending laterally from the sides of a mobile carriage of the charactershown in my earlier patents above referred to, for movement to and fromground engaging positions, later-ally space-d from the sides of a mobilecarriage, to stabilize the carriage.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a lateral supportproviding a rolling contact with the ground at the sides of a carriagesuch that the carriage may be advanced through an orchard withoutdisturbing the lateral support and without material obstruction to theforward advance of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide a lateral support or bracing mechanismarranged to be hydraulically actuated to sustain a great amount ofweight tending to tilt a mobile carriage laterally on its supportingwheels; and which may be moved through a relatively wide angle ofadjustment and effectively held at any desired point Within its range ofadjustment.

Another object is to provide a support of the character described whichmay be readily moved to and from an operative position, and which may beeffectively locked in such position to guard against inadvertent releaseat times when a tilting of the apparatus might cause damage thereto orinjury to a workman carried thereby.

A still further object is to provide lateral supporting mechanism ofrugged structure capable of supporting very heavy loads, and which ismanipulatable to permit effective operation of the mechanism and of theapparatus to be braced thereby under widely varying conditions of groundsurface, and to surfaces which yield to various degrees under heavy loadso as to maintain the equilibrium of the carriage under widely varyingconditions.

The invention has other features of advantage, some of which, with theforegoing, will be more fully explained in the following specification.The invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described andshown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thespecification, as the invention may be otherwise embodied within thedefinition of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental side elevational view of a portion of a mobileorchard apparatus equipped with the lateral supporting mechanism of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmental plan view of the carriage frame of the apparatusillustrating a preferred form of the lateral support of the presentinvention, the superstructure being omitted to more clearly show themanner in which the supporting mechanism is mounted.

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 1, the figurebeing drawn upon a larger scale.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of a carriage frame equipped with amodified form of the lateral supporting mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a fragmental detail view, partly in section, of a preferredroller mounting means.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the lateral bracemechanism of the present invention as attached to the frame of a mobilecarriage;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 6, andindicating in full and dotted lines its elevated and ground engagingpositions, respectively;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 6 as viewedfrom the right-hand side of FIG. 6, parts being broken away, and partsbeing shown in section;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the lower frame section of the brace; and

FIG. 10 is a detail view of the ground engaging roller, parts beingbroken away and shown in section.

In terms of broad inclusion, the device of my present inventioncontemplates the provision of laterally extending supports mounted uponthe sides of a mobile carriage upon which are mounted axially extensiblebooms arranged to be moved angularly about horizontal and vertical axesto support a workman at the end of each boom in desired positions, suchas to give access to an adjacent tree over at least one quadrantthereof. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the supports areactuated by hydraulic rams to raise and lower ground engaging rollersfrom and to supporting engagement with the ground surface at oppositesides of the carriage at points sufliciently spaced from the carriage tobrace the carriage against tilting movement when any boom is moved toits maximum laterally extending position. The invention alsocontemplates the provision of novel means for mounting the rollers uponthe supports to insure effective supporting engagement with the ground,regardless of irregularity of the surface or the firmness of the soil,and which will permit forward movement of the carriage while thesupports are in active bracing position, as well as when in elevatedinactive position.

In terms of greater detail, and in particular reference to theillustrative embodiments shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 the device of thepresent invention comprises a lateral support, designated in general bythe numeral 11, mounted upon a side portion of the carriage frame 12adjacent each of a plurality of extensible booms 14. Broadly, the booms14 are mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis upon asupporting base member 16 which, in turn, is rotatable about a verticalaxis. 'Each boom is extensible along its longitudinal axis between fullyretracted and fully extended positions. A cage 17 is supported upon theend of each boom on which a workman may stand while picking fruit orperforming other Work, such as pruning, thinning, spraying or otheroperations on the trees of an orchard. By extending and retracting theboom and manipulating it through desired angles of horizontal andvertical adjustment, a workman may be supported at desired positionsfrom which he may reach any portion of at least a full quadrant of anadjacent tree. Since the structure and operation of such orchardapparatus is fully described in my patents above identified, a furtheror more detailed description of that apparatus is herein unnecessary.

In the embodiment show in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the supportcomprises and arm 21 mounted for pivotal movement about a shaft 22substantially parallel to the carriage frame 12, a support beingprovided upon each side of the frame at front and back of the carriage.While only the rear of the carriage is shown in the present application,it is to be understood that similar booms 14 and lateral supports 11 arecontemplated at the forward end of the machine, as disclosed in my priorpatents above referred to. Preferably, the arm 21 is of an A shape withthe diverging ends of the arm sections pivoted at spaced points alongthe frame, the resist torsion and displacement of the arms in a forwardand backdirection relative to the carriage.

At the outer end of each arm, near where the arm sections coverage to ameeting point, is mounteda ground engaging roller 23. Preferably, theroller 23 is mounted upon a yoke 24 pivotally movable about a verticalshaft 25 extending through a bearing 26 carried by a shaft 27, which, inturn, is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis throughbearings 28 secured to the end of the arm, as best shown in FIG. of thedrawings. The axis of the shaft 29, upon which the roller rotates,

.is offset from the axis of the vertical shaft25 so that the roller willtrail in the manner of a castor when the carriage is advanced along theground with the roller in ground engaging position.

Each arm 21 is movable bodily about the axis of the shaft 22 upon whichit is mounted by means of a' lever arm 31, which arm may be formedintegrally with one of the A forming sections. The arm 21, with thelever portion 31, operates as a bell crank pivotally movable to raiseand lower the roller from and to ground engaging position. The leverportions 31 of the arms at opposite sides of the carriage are connectedto piston stems 32 of a double acting hydraulic ram 33 mounted at theback of the carriage frame in any convenient manner, as best shown inFIG. 3 of the drawings. Fluid pressure introduced between pistonswithinthe ram in conventional manner cause the stems 32 to move outwardly inopposite directions to move the rollers 23 into ground engagingpositions, as shown in full lines in FIG. 3 of the drawings. When theflow is directed into the pistons from the outer ends of the ram, thepistons move inwardly to displace the levers 31 inwardly, thereby rais-ving the arms 21 and rollers 23 to an elevated ground ,frame 12, to whichthe shaft is secured, to be telescoped with a main carriage frame member34, as taught in my prior patent No. 2,798,623 above referred to. Thearm may, of course, be otherwise mounted, if desired.

In order to prevent an inadvertent raising of the arms 21 and rollers23, I prefer to provide a latch arranged to hold each arm against'upward movement until the latch is manually released. A toothed arm 34pivoted to each lever 31 and arranged to engage a portion of thecarriage frame 12 as a detent is satisfactory, though any other type ofreleasable latch may be substituted.

Instead of the bell crank type of lever 31 and arm 21 shown in FIGS. 1,2 and 3, the rollers 23 may be mounted upon rigid laterally extendingarms 36, as shown in FIG.

4. In this arrangement, each yoke 24 is connected to the. joined ends ofa pair of pivoted links 37, which diverge toward the arm upon which itis supported. The upper ends of the links are slidably and pivotallyconnected to the arm 36 by pins 38, which engage slots 39 in the arm. Adouble acting hydraulic ram 41 is provided with piston stems 42connected to pins 38 for moving the pins toward and away from eachotheralong 'the'slots 39. When the pins are drawn together, they causethe links 37 to move the roller downwardly to ground engaging position,as shown in full lines in FIG. 4. As a pins 38 are forced apart, thelinks raise the roller to inactive position, as indicated in brokenlines at the right hand side of FIG. 4.

ble depth in soft ground or mud, so as to keep the carriage in a levelposition when such a condition is en- 4' countered. Likewise, therollers must be movable upward sutficiently to make allowance for thetendency of the wheels 18 of the carriage to diginto soft ground as theapparatus is. advanced along the ground. It may be sometimes necessaryto raise the rollers nearly to the level of the carriage frame .12 inorder to permit the wheels to gain-the necessary traction. However, forordinary ground conditions,- the carriage may be advanced withoutraising the rollers 23 from the ground. In that case, the rollers maypivot about the horizontal shaft 27 or the vertical shaft 25, or both,to conform to irregularities in the ground surface- At the same time,

the offset position of the roller with respect to the vertical shaft 25permits the roller, to trail as a castor.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 6through 10 of the drawings, a brace mounting plate 43 is welded, rivetedor otherwise secured to the carriage body frame 12 adjacent an endthereof. The mounting plate 43 is provided with outwardly disposedbrackets 44 arranged to support bearings 46 in which a shaft 47 isjournaled. A lateral brace, designated in general by the numeral 48, ismountedupon the shaft 47.

As. illustrated in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, the brace48 comprises a pair ofbrace arms 49 secured-in spaced relation by stays 51 which may be formedof pipe, suitable lengths of which are welded to form an X-shaped crossbrace by which the arms 49 may be rigidly held in spaced parallelrelation to form a main brace frame. Preferably, nuts 52 are welded orotherwise secured within the ends of the stay pipe lengths 51 to beengaged vby bolts 53 lthreacled thereto through the brace arms 49. Hubs54, formed upon or secured to the brace arms 49, engage the shaft 47 andare secured thereto by keys 56 or other suitable securing means.

A cross piece 57, preferably an upwardly faced channel, is pivotallyconnected at opposite ends thereof to the ends of the brace arms 49.Ends of the channel piece 57 have the flange portions cut away, and aredownturned to provide brackets 58. The channel cross piece 57 isconnected to the ends of the arms 49 by bearing studs 59 extendingthrough the ends of the arms and through the brackets 58. Nuts 61,retained by cotter pins or other suitable retaining means, secure thebolts in operative engagement with the arms 49 and brackets 58.

A ground engaging roller 63 is rotatably mounted upon a bearing shaft 64extending between the arms of a yoke 66. A pin 67, secured to the yoke66, extends through a ball bearing 68 and through the cross channel 57and a bearing plate 69'seating within the channel. The pin 67 and theroller 63 are held in assembled position upon the cross channel 57 bymeans of a nut 71 threaded onto the upper end of the pin 67 and securedthereto by a taper pin 72 or other suitable retaining means. The arms ofthe yoke 66 are shaped to engage the shaft 64 in offsetrelation to theaxis of the bearing pin 67' so that the roller 63 may roll as a castor.

Links 73 are pivoted at one end to a bracket-44 and at the other end tothe lower end of a bracket 58. The links 73 are connected and braced inspaced relation by crossing pipe sections 74 secured thereto in anysuitable manner, as by welding,.or by bolts applied in a manner similarto the bolts 52 and nuts 53 by which the stays 51 are secured to thearms 49.

The roller 63, which is preferably in the order of a twelve-inchdiameter and ,a twelve-inch length, is moved to and from ground engagingposition by means of a hydraulic ram 78 secured to the end of thecarriage frame 12. The ram 78 is provided with a piston stem 79pivotally connected to the outer end of a bell crank arm 81 formedintegrally with one of the brace arms 49. The crank arm 81 is arrangedto clear the end of the carriage frame 12, and the stroke of the ram 78is designed to raise the roller to a maximum clearance above the groundlevel suflicient to permit free movement of the carriage over anyordinary ground obstruction without interfering withthe manipulation ofequipment mounted and operating upon the carriage frame 12. The lowerlimit of movement of the roller 63 should be such as to accommodatemovement of the roller downwardly into soft soil or mud sufliciently tohold the carriage substantially level, even under conditions whichpermit the roller to sink into the soil to a substantial depth.

The links 73 hold the channel 57 substantially level and the yokebearing pin 67 substantially vertical as the roller is lowered andraised to and from ground engaging position. The cross stays 51 and 74strengthen and brace the arm-s 49 against distortion and cooperate togive a strength and rigidity adequate to sustain a heavy load actingthrough the leverage of a long boom. Because the roller 63 is so mountedas to trail in the manner of a castor, the carriage may be advancedwithout raising the rollers unless and until ground conditions areencountered which require special manipulation of the rollers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are movably mounted upon a mobile carriage andarranged to be independently manipulated to support workmen in desiredpositions relative to adjacent trees, lateraljsupporting means mountedupon opposite sides of the carriage adjacent the booms for bracing thesame against lateral tilting movement, each supporting means comprisingan arm pivoted to a side of the carriage in substantial alinement withthe base of each boom, a roller, a yoke rotatably supporting the rollerupon the outer end of the arm, the yoke being mounted for pivotalmovement about horizontal and vertical axes, and actuating meanscomprising a lever carried by each supporting arm and a hydraulic rammounted upon an end of the carriage and connected to said lever forraising and lowering each arm to move its roller to and from groundengaging position in laterally spaced relation to the carriage intransverse alinement with its boom.

2. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are movably mounted upon a mobile carriage andarranged to be independently manipulated to support workmen in desiredpositions relative to adjacent trees, lateral supporting means mountedupon opposite sides of the carriage in substantial alinement with thebooms for bracing the carriage against lateral tilting movement, eachsupporting means comprising a bell crank pivoted to a side of thecarriage adjacent a boom and provide with a relatively long bracing armextending laterally from the carriage and a shorter lever arm portion, ayoke pivotally mounted upon the outer end of each bracing arm, a rollerrotatably mounted upon each yoke, a hydraulic ram mounted upon thecarriage between opposite bell cranks pivoted to opposite sides of thecarriage, said ram being connected to the lever arm portions of the bellcranks for actuating the cranks to move the rollers to and from groundengaging positions.

3. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are movably mounted upon a mobile carriage andarranged to be independently manipulated to support workmen in desiredpositions relative to adjacent trees, lateral supporting means mountedupon opposite sides of the carriage for bracing the same against lateraltilting movement, each supporting means comprising an arm extendinglaterally from a side of the carriage adjacent a boom, a pair of linkspivotally and slidably connected at their upper ends to each laterallyextending arm, a yoke pivotally connected to the lower ends of each pairof link arms, the upper ends of the links of each pair being movabletoward and away from each other to lower and raise the yoke, a rollerrotatably mounted upon the yoke, and a hydraulic ram mounted upon thecarriage between the upper ends of each pair of links and connectedthereto for actuating the links to move the respective rollers carriedthereby to and from a ground engaging position laterally spaced from thecarriage.

4. A lateral support for orchard apparatus of the character describedcompir-sing an arm pivoted to a side of a mobile carriage upon an axisfixed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carriage,in a position below and inwardly spaced from a side frame member of thecarriage whereby the member itself limits upward movement of the arm, ayoke pivotally mounted upon the outer end of the arm for tiltingmovement about a substantially horizontal axis parallel to the arm pivotaxis and for turning movement about a vertical axis, a roller rotatablymounted upon the yoke, and means for actuating the arm to lower andraise the roller to and from a ground engaging position.

5. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are mounted upon a mobile carriage and arranged to bemanipulated to support workmen in varying positions relative to adjacenttrees, lateral bracing means mounted upon the sides of the carriage forbracing the carriage against tilting, said lateral bracing meanscomprising a pair of brace arms pivotally mounted to extend laterallyoutwardly therefrom in substantially parallel spaced relation upon aside of the carriage frame adjacent an end thereof, cross staysextending between and secured to the arms including a cross beampivotally connected to the brace arms near their outer ends, groundengaging means pivotally secured to the cross beam in downwardlyextending relation thereto; a bell crank arm attached to one of thebrace arms, and an hydraulic ram mounted upon the carriage frame andconnected to the crank arm for moving the ground engaging means to andfrom ground engaging position.

6. A lateral brace for mobile field apparatus as defined by claim 5wherein the ground engaging means is mounted as a castor upon said crossbeam substantially midway between the ends thereof.

7. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are mounted upon a mobile carriage and arranged to bemanipulated to support workmen in varying positions relative to adjacenttrees, lateral bracing means mounted upon the sides of the carriage forbracing the carriage against tilting, said lateral bracing meanscomprising a brace frame pivotally mounted upon a side of the carriageframe adjacent an end thereof in laterally outwardly extending relationthereto, said brace frame comprising a pair of brace arms positioned inspaced relation, a cross member pivotally connected to and extendingbetween the ends of the brace arms, a yoke pivotally mounted upon thecross member between the brace arms for movement about a vertical axis,a ground engaging roller mounted upon the yoke for rotation about ahorizontal axis rearwardly offset from the vertical axis sufiiciently toobtain a castor-like action, and means for moving the brace frame toraise and lower the ground engaging roller from and to ground engagingposition.

8. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are mounted upon a mobile carriage and arranged to bemanipulated to support workmen in varying positions relative to adjacenttrees, lateral bracing means mounted upon the sides of the carriage forbracing the carriage against tilting, said lateral bracing meanscomprising a brace frame pivotally mounted upon a side of the carriageframe adjacent an end thereof in laterally outwardly extending relationthereto, said frame comprising a pair of brace arms positioned insubstantially parallel spaced relation, a structural cross beampivotally connected to and extending between the ends of the brace arms,a ground engaging roller mounted for movement as a castor about asubstantially vertical castor axis upon the cross beam substantiallymidway between the brace arms, a bell crank arm connected to one of thebrace arms, and an hydraulic ram connected to the bell crank arm foractuating the brace frame to raise and lower the roller from and toground engaging position.

9. A lateral brace for mobile field apparatus as defined by claim 8provided with means for maintaining the eastor axis in substantiallyvertical position.

10. In an orchard apparatus of the character described wherein aplurality of booms are mounted upon a mobile carriage and arranged to bemanipulated to support workmen in varying positions relative to adjacenttrees, lateral bracing means mounted upon the sides of the carriage forbracing the carriage against tilting, said lateral bracing meanscomprising a main brace frame pivotally mounted upon a side of thecarriage frame in laterally outwardly extending relation thereto, saidframe including a pair of substantially parallel brace arms one of whichis provided with a bell crank arm by which the frame may be actuated, across member connected to the arms between their outer ends for pivotalmovement about a horizontal axis, a roller mounted upon the cross memberbetween the brace arms for movement about a substantially ver- 8 crankarm for raising and lowering the roller, and a second brace pivoted atone end to the carriage frame and at the other end to the cross members.

2,927,705 3/ 1960 Girardi ,182- -2 X 3,107,021 10/1963 Dempster280-l50.5 X

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

tical castor axis, hydraulic means connected to the bell 15 HARRISON R.MOSELEY, Examiner.

1. IN AN ORCHARD APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED WHEREIN APLURALITY OF BOOMS ARE MOVABLY MOUNTED UPON A MOBILE CARRIAGE ANDARRANGED TO BE INDEPENDENTLY MANIPULATED TO SUPPORT WORKMEN IN DESIREDPOSITIONS RELATIVE TO ADJACENT TREES, LATERAL SUPPORTING MEANS MOUNTEDUPON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CARRIAGE ADJACENT THE BOOMS FOR BRACING THESAME AGAINST LATERAL TILTING MOVEMENT, EACH SUPPORTING MEANS COMPRISINGAN ARM PIVOTED TO A SIDE OF THE CARRIAGE IN SUBSTANTIAL ALINEMENT WITHTHE BASE OF EACH BOOM, A ROLLER, A YOKE ROTATABLY SUPPORTING THE ROLLERUPON THE OUTER END OF HE ARM, THE YOKE BEING MOUNTED FOR PIVOTALMOVEMENT ABOUT HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL AXES, AND ACTUATING MEANSCOMPRISING A LEVER CARRIED BY EACH SUPPORTING ARM AND A HYDRAULIC RAMMOUNTED UPON AN END OF THE CARRIAGE AND CONNECTED TO SAID LEVER FORRAISING AND LOWERING EACH ARM TO MOVE ITS ROLLER TO AND FROM GROUNDENGAGING POSITION IN LATERALLY SPACED RELATION TO THE CARRIAGE INTOTANSVERSE ALINEMENT WITH ITS BOOM.